21yr old student nurse- under investigation

[NN89]

Hello,

I've just recently had an appointment with a gastroenterologist, after suffering what I was always told was IBS since I was 14. However In january my symptoms went from a flare up once or twice a month, to daily diaorrhea, nausea etc. I'd always had blood in my stool since I can remember after a very bad flare up, however always brushed it off as one of those things that happens when you go to the toilet more frequently.

My consultant has sent me for a colonoscopy on the 30th, which i'm terrified about- and also worried about the result. He told my my symptoms, and my age etc fit the 'classic ibd sufferer'


I'm currently a student nurse, 2nd year and (almost) 21!
Hope to get some support!
Thanks

 

[EthanPSU]

Hey, Ive done almost everything you have. I am also 20 (Very close to 21!) About 3 years ago I had a colonoscopy which I thought would be horrible but it wasnt that much. The only bad part about it is you cant eat for a day before and you have to drink a laxative all day which sucks. But the accuall presidure you will be knocked out the whole time and wont know what happened so its not bad at all.

Also I hope you do well in your nursing career. Im going to school for Politics which would be interesting to get into

 

[DustyKat]

Hi NN and :welcome:

You sure came to the right place for support, loads of it here. I don't have CD but my daughter does, she was diagnosed at 14. No doubt others with experience in having a colonoscopy will be along soon. I hope all goes with you and good luck with your nursing!

Take care,
Dusty

 

[Dexky]

Hi NN, welcome to the forum. There are several on here similar to your age with widely ranging ibd. I hope whatever the results of your scope are that they are definitive... so many on here who suffer without a diagnosis. If you are dxed with crohn's that'll suck, but if you have it and aren't dxed, it'll suck a lot more. Good luck, I wish you the best.

 

[David in Seattle]

My consultant has sent me for a colonoscopy on the 30th, which i'm terrified about- and also worried about the result.

NN - Welcome to the forum, you'll find the people here very supportive. I can understand your nervousness about the possible outcome of your colonoscopy, but the exam itself is really no big deal. I had my 2nd one 2 days ago, they are a PITA (pardon the pun ;-) because of the fasting and laxative prep required, but not something to be feared. I had no discomfort at all either time, even though the last one involved multiple biopsy samples and the removal of a small polyp. Even the preparation is more annoying than it is painful. You'll be fine!

Good luck and welcome again to the site.

David

 

[Sophia]

Hi and welcome,

Glad to see you have found us. I'm also fairly new here and have found tons of advice and support.

Good luck on the colonoscopy. Like others have said, the preparation for the colonoscopy is probably worse than the actual examination, as you can't eat and you have to drink a laxative. The actual examination can be a bit painful, but it doesn't last for long and oftentimes people are given sedatives to feel more relaxed and to feel less discomfort. I experienced that I had to be awake during the whole examination so that I could cooperate, because the tube can be difficult to get through in some places, but towards the end of my examination I got sedated a bit because of the severe inflammation that they were struggling to get past. You are still awake even though you get those sedatives though, so you can still cooperate. At least I could. (I've only done this twice, so I'm not an expert yet.) I think it is common (in Norway at least ) to be fairly "with it" during your colonoscopy, but maybe doctor's do it in different ways. Another thing that helped me get through the colonoscopy was that I knew that this was going to help me - someone actually wanted to look at my insides to see what was up, and that's a good thing when you have been struggling for a while and no one seems to know what is up. I'm sure you will feel relief after your examination, and I wish you the best of luck with it. If you wanna talk we are plenty of people in here that have been through it and can support you.

Big hugs,

 

[Crohn's 35]

Hi NN! Welcome! Yes, unfortunately your age group is one of the starters for Crohns. You could get lucky and find your you dont have it, or your magic medication to help you stay symptoms free. This is not a death sentence. Being in the field you are in could help you personally. There are other nurses here some do well, some struggle but that doesnt have to be you. Stress makes it worse, so have your colonoscopy which is not scary anymore, and whether you do have a dx or not we are still here for you.
:hang: let us know your results, hugs!!

 

[gibby]

welcome to the forum NN, hope your colonoscopy goes alright, as everyone says its the prep that is sometimes the hardest bit, once you get to the clinic and get some of that lovely sedation into you its grand! i've been a nurse for 6 years now, and remember going through uni with this thing...it can flare with stress but everyone reacts differently and on the whole over the past 8 years i have been not too bad, just starting to get worse again recently.

i remember when i was a student and sat in our very small nursing class, during a lecture about IBD when the lecturer asked the class whether they knew anyone who suffered from it, and all of my friends just pointed at me....not the way i wanted to share it with the class but anyway, ended up being the subject of the lesson with a question and answer sesh! I laugh about it now and it ended up being good for me to stop having to make excuses to why i had to nip out of class to use the loo so often!

Hope your investigations give you an answer quickly and we are all here to support you in the meantime!

x

 

[Astra]

Hi NN
and welcome

hope you get some answers soon, and glad you found us, any questions, we're here for you
lotsa luv
Joan xxx

 

[ameslouise]

Welcome! Good luck on your colonoscopy. Or rather, good luck on the prep!

Hope you get some answers soon, and some relief.

- Amy

 

[TLC31]

hi nn..im sorry your havin to go thru this. im booked in for one on the 27th the drink i to have is called moviprep and i cant eat 24 hours b4 but i just keep thinking ok its just one day and then hopefully get things sorted. im relli not lookin forward to it ither but i have been sedated before and i dont rember anything so hopefully it be same this time.
my doc suspetcs crohns my other doc suspects ibs. so who knows. all i know is at min i feel horrid every day.
hope you get sorted soon.
let us no the outcome wont you..good luck.
tra xx

 

[Silvermoon]

Welcome NN! Glad you found us!

I, too, am a nurse, for about 13 years now (OMG...has it been that long?!?!?)... and was diagnosed with Crohn's at age 12/13 (somewhere in there...lol)... so I went through nursing school with Crohn's.

I had a few flares half way through...one that caused me to take a year off for surgery...so it actually took me 6 years to complete the four year degree...but I did it!

There is another thread around here somewhere regarding going to college and how to cope with IBD... if I can find it again I will post it up here...but it's a great thread with lots of support from the college students who are suffereing with the disease and still managing.....

I wish you all the best in your studies.

 

[Silvermoon]

Actually...found a couple...lol:

http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=10559&highlight=college

http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=11530&highlight=college

 

[gibby]

good finding silver! ooh and there is also stuff on the NACC uk website about IBD and uni as well which has some good advice on it too......http://www.nacc.org.uk/content/services/infoSheets.asp
there is loads on that site to read and look through.....